[MD] Emotions' place?

[MarshaV]

And for the basic 'thump on the head' type of guy...

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Book of the Civilized Man by Daniel of Beccles

Three themes

There are three major recurrent themes in the poem: social hierarchy, 
self-control and sexual morality.

The first theme is the emphasis on social hierarchy and how to behave 
around those of higher or lower status (lords and servants). The poem 
takes the general tone of addressing the reader as someone who is a 
"householder". This can be seen in the opening lines of the poem 
"Reader, if you wish to be adorned with good manners, if you wish to 
be respected and lead a civilized life as a noble householder...". In 
other words, it addresses a very minor upper percentage of the 
general population who own households and have servants, the class 
that from the 16th century might be identified as "country gentry".

The second recurrent theme is self-control, in general holding 
oneself inward when it comes to speaking, eating and bodily 
emissions. When it comes to speaking, "Be careful to whom, what, why 
and when you speak". He suggests it is better to keep your thoughts 
to yourself. When it comes to eating, he suggests small bites, do not 
overeat, do not play with your food, don't use your fingers to clean 
bowls. When it comes to bodily emissions he suggests if you clean out 
your nose in your hand, do not show people what comes out. Also, 
guests and servants should not urinate in the dining hall, but the host may.

The third recurrent theme is sexual morality. The Civilized Man was 
clearly written for men. It offers advice on prostitutes: "If you are 
overcome with erotic desire when you are young and your penis drives 
you to go to a prostitute, do not go to a common whore; empty your 
testicles quickly and depart quickly." He offers advice on how to 
pick a wife, which includes looking at her property value and 
personal traits. Following a tradition inherited from antiquity, 
Daniel describes women as lustful and untrustworthy. The poem 
describes a woman lying in bed with her husband, with her thoughts on 
to her secret lover: "The lascivious woman throws herself around the 
neck of her lover, her fingers give him those secret touches that she 
denies to her husband in bed; one wicked act with her lover pleases 
the lascivious adulteress more than a hundred with her husband; 
women's minds always burn for the forbidden." He says she is always 
ready to fornicate "with a cook or a half-wit, a peasant or a 
ploughman, or a chaplain... what she longs for is a thick, leaping, 
robust piece of equipment, long, smooth and stiff... such are the 
things that charm and delight women". Daniel had a nearly 
pathological view of the promiscuity of women, but despite this he 
says "Whatever your wife does, do not damage your marriage" and he 
goes on to say "if you are jealous, do not whisper a word about it... 
when you are jealous, learn to look up at the ceiling." The message 
is clearly in the same theme of holding inward and avoiding any 
embarrassments at all cost.

Daniel's advice comes to a climax in what is perhaps the most 
difficult situation of all: the wife of one's lord makes a sexual 
proposition. It is a combination of the three problems: hierarchical 
relationships, control of bodily emissions, and sexual morality. 
Daniel's solution? Pretend to be ill.





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The Universe is uncaused, like a net of jewels in which each is a 
reflection of all the others in a fantastic, interrelated harmony without end.
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